The band began by playing rhythm and blues music. After some early lineup changes, the band settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge, which would stay together for most of the band's "classic era" through the late 1960s-early 1970s. Their second album, "Days of Future Passed", released in 1967, was a fusion of rock with classical music and established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. Days Of Future Passed has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".
The Moody Blues became known internationally by recordings of songs including "Go Now", "Nights in White Satin", "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question" and "Your Wildest Dreams". The band has been awarded 18 platinum and gold LP’s. The band sold 70 million albums worldwide. The Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Moody Blues formed in 1964 in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham in the county of Warwickshire. Ray Thomas, a young John Lodge and (occasionally) Mike Pinder had been members of El Riot & the Rebels. They disbanded when Lodge, the youngest member, went to technical college and Pinder joined the army. Pinder then rejoined Thomas to form the Krew Cats. Back from a disappointing spell in the Hamburg region a few months later, the pair recruited guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine and band manager-turned-drummer Graeme Edge. Pinder and Thomas initially approached their former El Riot bandmate John Lodge about being the bass player, but Lodge declined as he was still in college. They instead recruited bassist Clint Warwick. The five appeared as the Moody Blues for the first time in Birmingham in 1964. The name developed from a hoped-for sponsorship from the M&B Brewery which failed to materialise, the band calling themselves both "The M Bs" and "The M B Five", and was also a subtle reference to the Duke Ellington song "Mood Indigo". In an interview it was revealed that the band was named "Moody Blues" because Mike Pinder was interested in how music changes people's moods and due to the fact that the band was playing blues at the time. Around this time the band were the resident group at the Carlton Ballroom, later to become rock music venue Mothers on Erdington High Street.
The Moody Blues' "rich symphonic sound" influenced groups such as Yes, Genesis, the Electric Light Orchestra and Deep Purple. They also helped make synthesizers and philosophy "part of the rock mainstream".
The Moody Blues became members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. In 2013, readers of Rolling Stone Magazine voted for them as one of the ten bands that should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ultimate Classic Rock called them "perennial victims of an unaccountable snubbing" and inducted them into its own Hall of Fame in 2014.
Writing for The Guardian in 2015, Rob Chapman described the band as "psychedelia's forgotten heroes". He stated: "Despite their success, rock critics rarely took the Moody Blues seriously, a pattern that continued for the next 45 years." He also wrote: "Despite the critical disapproval, the best of the Moody Blues music between 1967 and 1970 possessed grace and beauty. Like The Beatles, they understood how pop songs worked as ensemble pieces. None of them were particularly virtuosic or showy as musicians and their music is refreshingly free of the noodling longeurs that characterised the output of their more self-indulgent contemporaries."
In December 2017, the band were announced as inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On 14 April 2018, they were inducted as part of the 2018 class. During his acceptance speech in Cleveland, OH, Justin Hayward said, "If you didn't know already, well we're just a bunch of British guys, but of course to us and to all British musicians, this is the home of our heroes and we all know that..." acknowledging the inspirational role of America's rock and roll icons. During the ceremony, Ray Thomas was included as a star that was lost in the past year.
On 11th November 2021 Graeme Edge died. Upon Edge's death, Justin Hayward announced that The Moody Blues had no longer been active since Edge had retired in 2018 (Edge being the only member to remain with the band from formation to ending). Founding member Denny Laine died on 5 December 2023.
Melancholy Man
The Moody Blues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the world surrounds me, and my feet are on the ground.
I'm a very lonely man, doing what I can,
All the world astounds me and I think I understand
That we're going to keep growing, wait and see.
When all the stars are falling down
Into the sea and on the ground,
A beam of light will fill your head
And you'll remember what's been said
By all the good men this world's ever known.
Another man is what you'll see,
Who looks like you and looks like me,
And yet somehow he will not feel the same,
His life caught up in misery, he doesn't think like you and me,
'Cause he can't see what you and I can see.
The Moody Blues's song Melancholy Man expresses the feeling of isolation, loneliness, and understanding in the face of the vast and sometimes bewildering world. The singer distinguishes himself from the surrounding world, emphasizing his melancholy, which he suggests is at odds with the wider world's constant movement and growth. While he feels isolated, the singer suggests that he understands the gradual processes that drive growth, and that he can wait patiently for change, even as he remains lonely.
The second half of the song takes a more abstract, allegorical approach. As the stars fall and angry voices carry, a beam of light fills the singer's head, leading him to remember the words of "all the good men this world's ever known." Suddenly, the song shifts from using the first-person perspective to a more general one, suggesting that the figure that appears after the light is another man entirely, one who is like the listener in many ways but somehow different, caught up in his own misery and incapable of seeing the world as the singer can see it. In this sense, the song argues, every person's individual experiences may shape and color how they understand their own lives and the wider world.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a melancholy man, that's what I am,
I am a man who is full of melancholy and sadness, it is my identity.
All the world surrounds me, and my feet are on the ground.
I am deeply entrenched in this world, I am well-grounded and able to perceive everything around me.
I'm a very lonely man, doing what I can,
I am deeply lonely, and to cope with that, I'm doing whatever I can do to survive.
All the world astounds me and I think I understand
The world and everything around me is so incredible that I think I understand how it works.
That we're going to keep growing, wait and see.
I think we are going to change and grow continuously in the future. Let's wait and see.
When all the stars are falling down
During times of chaos or turmoil
Into the sea and on the ground
The impact of that chaos is creating devastating effects on the environment as well as in life.
And angry voices carry on the wind,
The angry voices of people can be heard everywhere, symbolizing how unhappy and dissatisfied people are.
A beam of light will fill your head
Suddenly, there will be an epiphany or realization, allowing you to see understanding.
And you'll remember what's been said
It will come together and click, and you'll remember what advice or opinion you've heard before.
By all the good men this world's ever known.
You'll remember everything good that has been spoken by all the great men who have ever existed.
Another man is what you'll see,
You'll see another man
Who looks like you and looks like me,
He looks like everyone else
And yet somehow he will not feel the same,
But the person is miserable, feeling differently than everyone else
His life caught up in misery, he doesn't think like you and me,
He is caught up in a cycle of sorrow and sadness, and this makes him blind to the world.
'Cause he can't see what you and I can see.
He is incapable of seeing what we perceive in life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MIKE PINDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind